Roller-skate



(No Model.)

0. F. MILLER.

ROLLER SKATE. N0. 321.443. Patented July 7, 1885.

Fig. 5.

llnirnn STATES Oriucn.

CORNELIUS F. MILLER, OF HAMILTOX, OHIO.

ROLLER-SKATE.

SPECI ICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 321,443, dated July 7,1885.

Application filed March 14, 1885. (No model.)

To 00% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CORNELIUS F. MiLLER, of Hamilton, Butler county,Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRoller-Skates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the truck mechanism of roller-skates, and itwill be understood from the following description, taken in con nectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevationof the forward truck of a roller-skate, the left-hand wheel beingomitted; Fig. .2, a vertical section of the same; Fig. 3, a bottom Viewof the same; Fig. 4, a front view of a hanger, with the lower bearingpart of the housing shown in section upon two different planes, oneplane cutting the axis of the strai ningscrew, the other plane forwardof the straining-screw; Fig. 5, a bottom view of the hanger; Fig. 6, atop view of a portion of the foot-piece directly over the hanger; Fig.7, an enlarged diagram illustrating the eil'ect of tipping the skate,and Fig. 8 a side elevation of a truck embodying a modifiedconstruction.

Two of my improved trucks are to be attached to the foot-piece of askatein the manner common to roller-skates. The axes of oscillation of thefoot-piece with reference to the housings are arranged at aninclination, as usual, in order that a tendency to curvature in runningmay result from the tipping of the foot-piece.

In the drawings, neglecting Fig. 8 entirely for the present, Arepresents a portion of the ordinary foot-piece of the skate; B, thehousing, fitted with an axle and two wheels in the usual manner; 0, thehanger, to which the housing is articulated; D, the higher bearing ofthe hanger on the housing; E, ahangecboss projecting downward to furnishthe lower bearing for the housing; F, lips projecting from thebearing-face of the boss; G, the lower bearing of the housing,seatingupward between the lips re ferred to; H, a T-headed screw passingthrough the lower housingbearing and into the hanger; J, a springsurrounding the screw H, and serving to hold the lower housing bearingelastically into engagement with the hanger; K, a nut upon the screw,over the spring; L, a longitudinal groove in the lower bearing of thehousing, serving as a seat for the T-head of the screw; and M, alippendent from the hanger-boss at the end of the lower bearing of thehousing.

The action of the parts will be best understood from an inspection ofthe enlarged View, Fig. 7. Normally the lower housing-bearing seatssquarely up against the hanger-boss between the lips F, and the tendencyof the spring and T-headed screw is to maintain the parts in suchposition. When the skate is tipped, as seen in Fig. 7, the screw yieldsdownward, oscillating upon its T-head, and the lower housing-bearingopens upon one side, and the load is borne entirely by the other side.When the tipping force is lessened, or ceases to act, the strain of thespring tends to return the parts into their squarely-seated normalposition. The holes in the lower housing-bearing and through the foot ofthe boss, through which the screw passes, are to be large enough toprevent their impeding the swinging and oscillating motions of thescrew. The head of the screw is slotted for a screw-driver, or a wrenchmay be used; and its seating in the groove L, in which it is held by theforce of the spring, prevents anytendency of thescrew to rattle out ofadjustment, and at the same time the elastic nature of its seating inthis groove permits the ready turning of the screw a half-revolution ata time, to adj ust the tension of the spring.

The nut K is free to more vertically as the spring is compressed underthe tipping action, or when the spring is to be adjusted by turn ing thescrew; but it is prevented from rotation by a side tooth engaging agroove in the cavity of the boss, in which it and the spring below itare inclosed. The arrangement of the nut will be understood from Fig. 6.By carefully analyzing Fig. '7 it will be seen that as the tipping takesplace the screw partakes of a certain movement of oscillation orswinging. This swinging of the screw imposes no side strain upon the nutor its thread, as the nut is at liberty to tip as much as desired, thespring yielding more upon one side than upon the other. The entiremovement is at once supple and positive, and the device endows theskater with a peculiar consciousness of a reliable footing and acertainness of action. I show the spring J as a helical wire spring; butI contemplate the employment of other forms and other material, to bearranged in the same manner, and to operate precisely the same as thehelical spring shown.

In Fig. 8 I exhibit a modified construction involving the sameprinciple. In this case the spring and its barrel are carried by thehousing instead of the hanger.

I claim as my invention 1. In the truck of a roller-skate, thecombination of upper bearing,D, bearing G, having groove L, lips F atthe sides of the bearing, T-headed screw H, nut K, and spring J,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In the truck of a roller-skate, the combination of hanger 0, havingupper bearing,

D, hollow boss E, and lips F, housing B, engaging the bearing D, andhaving the lower bearing, G, seating upward between the lips of thehanger, the spring J within the hanger- CORNELIUS F. MILLER.

Witnesses:

J. W. SEE, WV. A. sEwARD.

